The man spearheading the proposal, former City Councilman Tom D’Agosta, said last week that the $55 million project would fill Escondido’s void of upscale hotels and boost the city’s reputation.

Mayor Sam Abed agreed that Escondido badly needs such a resort, expressing frustration that cyclists and officials from the Amgen Tour of California have chosen to stay in Rancho Peñasquitos when the race comes to town this May.

“I like the concept and the location,” said Abed, noting that the resort would be near the Safari Park, Interstate 15 and Westfield North County mall. “Escondido needs a full service hotel — maybe two.”

But Abed said D’Agosta’s proposal might have a fatal flaw: the city of San Diego owns some of the land where the two cities jointly built the 18-hole Vineyard course in 1993.

“We need to find out whether we can even have a development like that there,” Abed said. “We have to explore some land-use issues.”

Another hurdle for the project is that D’Agosta wants an $8.3 million city subsidy, which would cover the cost of building a 240-space parking garage under the 160-room hotel.

The city would also need to contribute $4 million in land for the project, which would be constructed on 3 acres now occupied by the Vineyard’s parking lot and part of the course’s driving range.

The rest of the money would include $8.3 million from D’Agosta’s investment group, and $34.7 million in out-of-state financing that D’Agosta said he’s already fully secured.

Abed declined to discuss the financing proposal, and he said the city wouldn’t consider having a consultant analyze the deal until the possible problem with San Diego’s land ownership was cleared up.

“There’s no point in looking at the financial analysis until we know about the land-use issues,” he said.

But Abed said the project was definitely worth exploring.

“I don’t want to dismiss any prospect without fully exploring the merits,” he said.

D’Agosta, who served on the council from 2000 to 2004, said the resort would be attractive to tourists and to families visiting Escondido for the many sports tournaments the city hosts year-round.

He said it would be similar to the Rancho Bernardo Inn in quality, but more appealing to travelers because the inn was built more than 50 years ago.

Initial plans call for tennis courts, a pool, a Jacuzzi, three restaurants, a wine store, sports bar and small banquet room.

D’Agosta and a San Marcos developer proposed a similar resort on the same site in 2001, but the City Council never moved forward with the project.

Escondido spent more than seven years negotiating with La Jolla developer Craig Clark to build a seven-story hotel next to City Hall, but that project fell through in 2011. In 2008, city officials agreed to contribute $18 million to that $70 million hotel.

“Nothing like this works in Escondido without a city subsidy,” D’Agosta said last week.

Developers said last fall that they plan to begin construction in April on a 105-room business-class hotel on La Terraza Boulevard near Valley Parkway and Interstate 15. That project would cost $14 million. Developers did not receive a cash subsidy from the city.